Are you looking for the best banking product to earn the most on your money? While long term certificates of deposits are often thought to have the best interest rates for savings, today there are many high yield checking accounts offering much better rates.
With some of the high yield checking accounts being offered by the financial industry at higher yields than most CDs, you need to check them out. Plus, with a checking account you get much better access to your money.
High Interest Checking Account Requirements to Look Out For
To qualify for this high rate of interest, there are generally some requirements set by the banks. Most are forgiving and allow an account holder to fall out and lose the high yield return for a month, but if the requirements are made the next month, they will receive the interest rate that is desired. These are FDIC-insured accounts where your money will be protected no matter the financial situation of the bank you have an account with.
One of the general requirements is a minimum balance. This can be anywhere from $500 to $5000. Before signing up for one of these accounts, makes sure you can afford to let the financial institution hold the minimal amount at all times. Another common requirement is that there will be so many debit card transactions per month. This could be as little as 8 and as great as 20. The last common requirement is that there should be at least one direct deposit made into the account each month.
Most financial institutions expect a good portion of these account holders to fail in the requirements. The default interest rate can be anywhere from 0.0% to 0.50%. The one requirement that most account holders fail on is the number of purchases. To get around this, many account holders make numerous small purchases. This can be time consuming, but worth it if the interest is high enough.
My High Yield Checking Account - ING Direct Checking Account
While ING Direct does not have the highest yield checking account, this is the online checking account that I use. I love my ING Direct accounts due to the ease of creating sub-accounts for savings goals.
One common high yield checking account feature is a tiered interest policy. My ING Direct’s Electric Orange account has such a policy. There are three different levels of interest an account holder can earn depending on their balance. From $0 to $49,999.99, the interest rate is 0.24% with an APY of 0.025%. From $50,000 to $99.999.99, the interest rate is 1.19% and the APY is 1.20%. The top tier is for balances above $100,000, in which you receive an interest rate of 1.24% and an APY of 1.25%. Each of these rates were posted on March 2, 2010. Unlike many other checking accounts, this one is tied to a money market account which limits the number of withdrawals to 6 per month. Access to your money can be with a MasterCard debit card and at over 35,000 ATM nationwide. There is also free online bill paying with this account.
Highest Yield Checking Account - Danversbank
The best bonus checking account interest rate is presently at 4.01% APY. One financial institution that offers this rate is Danversbank. Their Free Rewards Checking Account has an interest rate of 3.94% with an APY of 4.01%. This requires a minimum deposit of $100 to open and the APY is earned on balances from $0 to $25,000. For balances over $25,000, the APY is 0.025%.
One of the requirements for this APY is not a minimal balance, but 12 debit card transactions are required each billing cycle immaterial of the cycle’s length. The months with holidays are shorter than the typical cycle.
Other requirements are that your monthly statements will only be sent out electronically and you must access your online banking account each billing cycle. The last requirement is that there should be at least one recurring direct deposit each billing cycle.
The advantages of this account are no minimum balance required and no monthly maintenance fee. If you are charged a fee at any ATM nationwide, it will be refunded.
First Security of Iowa
The First Security of Iowa is another financial institution with an APY of 4.01%. This is on their Rewards Checking Account. There is no minimum balance required to receive this APY but it does require $25 to open this account. There is no monthly maintenance fee and no transaction limitations. The debit card is free and checks are printed for a fee. There is also the reimbursement of ATM fees up to $25 per billing cycle.
The requirements to obtain this APY are that 10 points of sale transactions are completed with the debit card each qualification cycle, and the statements are received electronically each month. There must also be a direct deposit made into the account each qualification cycle.
A qualification cycle starts the day before the current billing cycle statement is compiled and ends the day before the next billing cycle ends. The APY is only paid on balances that are below $25,000. For balance above this limit, the APY that will be paid is 1.00%. If for some reason the account holder does not meet each requirement for a given month, the interest rate is dropped to 0.40% APY.
These are three examples of the different requirements and rates a person can encounter in the financial world when looking for a high yield interest checking account. Each one of them is just a little different. When deciding on which one is best for you, look at all the details and qualifications carefully.
If you feel any one of the monthly requirements will not be met, I suggest you look to another financial institution for your account. As of may 2, 2010, there were 4 different financial institutions with an APY of 4.01%. There were four that offered 4.00% APY, and one with an APY of 3.59%.
There are 23 different financial instructions across the nation with APY rates at 3.00% and above, each one with a different set of requirements. The one precaution you should be aware of is that there is a limit of 6 transactions or less a month, this is a money market account.
Always read the fine print for the requirements or all of your time and effort put into acquiring this account will be for nothing.
For more words of wisdom from the financial wizard at The Debt Hawk, please view Investing in a company Vs Investing in Art.
Related posts:
subscribe to the 
follow The Debt Hawk on 